I have read or heard the story of the Prodigal Son more times than I can count. It's one of those Bible stories I feel so familiar with that I'm often tempted to skim it. Yet every time I hear a sermon or talk on this parable, I always seem to learn or notice something new.
Tonight as I read through the story I was again tempted to read quickly through the story I think I know so well. Instead I prayed for God to help me focus and learn.
As I read through Luke 15, my attention was drawn to verses 21-24,
"The son said to him,
'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
But the father said to his servants,
'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him.
Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet...
for this son of mine was dead and is alive again;
he was lost and is found.'"
The son's words, "I am no longer worthy to be called your son," really stood out to me as I read through the verses.
I see two parts to what the son is saying. He speaks of his unworthiness, and he speaks of becoming unworthy, falling out of worthiness. Which reminded me of two truths of our humanity, we are unworthy, and we have never been worthy.
We are not worthy of Christ's unconditional love, we are not worthy of the beautiful sacrifice He made by dying for us on the cross. No matter how hard we try to be "good" or reach some measure of "perfection," not only will we fail miserably, but such action will not make us worthy of love, acceptance, or sonship. The beauty of being a child of God is that it isn't something we earn, it is a free gift of grace, made out of infinite love. It's not just that we have lost worthiness by acting or not acting a certain way. We have never been worthy because being a child of God is not linked to anything we could possibly do or abstain from doing.
Despite this, we still try to operate on a "do good things and get good rewards," sort of barter system. We are trying to earn favor, trying to earn acceptance and love, even though these are things that can only be given. The son's admittance that he is not worthy is a humble statement in which the son really realizes his own brokenness and need for salvation. He realizes that in his broken state of humanity, he does not deserve to call his father his own any longer, and so he asks to simply be a servant, to earn his keep.
But we can't earn our keep. We can't earn love. And I love how beautifully the father's response in this parable speaks to the truth of how God interacts with us, how God reminds us that it is by grace we have been saved, not by works, so that no man can boast.
The father doesn't use words to respond to the son, he uses actions. He puts a rob around his son's shoulders, and a ring upon his finger. He clothes his dirty, worn-out son and prepares a banquet for him. He demonstrates with action a truth that has never changed. He loved his son the same before, during, and after the betrayal. He never stopped loving his son, and the level at which he loved his son never changed. Because this love was not dependent upon the actions of the wayward son. The love was depended on an unchanging, beautiful God.
I imagine the father saying, "Of course you aren't worthy! You never were. Your choice to leave did not render you less worthy than you were before. Your sins have not made you less worthy, rather they have displayed your brokenness, which was always present, in a more visible manner. It's not about what you have done or where you have been, my child. It's about who you are. And you are my son, and I love you."
Last week I wrote this poem, based on this story as I was randomly thinking about it. Pretty neat how I read it again today and learned so much from it. Gotta love God's timing!
(Now) Home
Blurred boundaries whisper, "Welcome home, son."
Been gone so long, forgot
What words felt like
Softly spoken with tongue so
Gentle and sweet
"Welcome home, son, you
Been gone so long, forgot
What it felt like to
Wrap you up in my arms."
Path was so long,
With each step grew more afraid
Walking up, covered
In muddied shame
Been gone so long, forgot
What your beard felt like against
My tearful face
Arms wrapped around me so strong
No boundaries,
Wrongs are righted
Regrets replaced by a robe and a ring
Fully forgiven, now forget
"You've been gone so long,
Welcome home, son."
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